The dreaded white fluff on walls!!

[gilly123]

It keeps coming back overnight recommendations of how to treat it please , we need to beat this triffid lol

[war horse]

I scraped the walls, then did 2 coats of white vinegar on the walls, left to dry and painted over with a white silicon paint last May, and so far nothing has returned, someone on the forum recommended trying this and l am soon happy with the results .

[mrsgee]

We were plagued last year after all the rain. Water had got into the walls, through cracks in the concrete I think, anyway, problem solved, had the external walls cladded, looks good, like bricks, no more painting, and the house is a lot warmer. I am not sure if the fluffy stuff is salt coming out of the concrete, or some kind of mould. Tried mould killer but that didn't work, very happy with the cladding.

[Kanonier]

This article may be of some assistance.

http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepair/ ... scence.htm

[PapaBravo]

Thanks Kanonier - very informative.

[BILLYBONDZ]

Oi.oi.gilly 123.....what room are you having problems........you may need a de humidator......this time of year, is not really a good time......to damp..........keep scrapping the candy floss off........apply pva to the area........this should hold it back......but be prepared for it to move about a bit.........keep brushing it away......and apply pva again........don’t bother to make good, skim, or apply top coat, till the weather warms up, and it stops raining...........
Hope this helps.........
BILLY BONDZ

[Steve C]

The white fluffy stuff is caused by water getting into the concrete / plaster. The only way to cure this is to stop the source of the water getting in. It is othing to do with fungus and fungal treatment will not get rid of it.

[sophie]

We have same problem and agree with Steve C, its not fungal, white, black or the horrible green stuff. Ours comes up every year in the tile grouting and mostly in the centre of down stairs rooms and would cost of fortune to stop. We just learn to live with it and just brush it away. As the weather becomes warmer it stops, never to be seen again for 10 months or so. After 15 years we just learn to take it is part of a TRNC wet winter.

[13roman58]

Don't use PVA or any other sealer, as this will keep the salts in. Let the area dry ,spring is here, it with dry naturally.

[gilly123]

We've had our house as long Sophie, and yes occasionally had the fluff in the floor tiles but this year it seems to be coming on the walls in most of our rooms, some just a little but a couple really bad, brush it off and next day it's back again! Just fed up with it.

[sophie]

gilly123, I think it will just keep coming until warm weather comes. Problem about sealing this sort of thing, it just "pops" up somewhere else! Its a pain I know.

[kibsolar1999]

The so called efflorescence or „salpetering“ is one of the things you can hate your builder for. On the other hand…. properly build homes are more expensive….
The non existence of vertical and horizontal (water) barriers ( which would cost 1 or 2 k if done by the builder in due course), causes wet concrete or plaster and therefore a reaction of water and salt in the concrete/plaster.
It also can be salt from the soil. Usually we talk about calcium carbonate (from concrete/ plaster ) and calcium sulfate (gypsum/plaster), but also chlorides and nitrates..
Water in mansory/walls itself is a problem. It will lead to a musty indoor climate, mold growth (also in the air only… not necessarily visible on walls) and influences the thermal behavior of a typical uninsulated surface to the worse (due to high humidity in the wall/floor).
Through migration (capillary effects) the salt is transported to the surface. Here it crystallizes, which often causes the plaster and paint to flake off, tiles can fall off as well. If the moisture is not stopped, the masonry /plaster/wall will deteriorate more and more over time.
Salt also has two other problematic properties. On the one hand, it has a hygroscopic effect. So it permanently attracts more moisture from the surroundings of the masonry, for example from the air. On the other hand, salt crystals constrict the pores in the masonry /walls and thereby hinder natural drying.
That’s why you sometimes have to wait till the middle of the summer until the salpetering stops.
You can not do much about it.. most practical probably would be a vertical barrier, eg, a 1 meter deep and 50 cm wide ditch around your house. Sides to the house water insulated, filled with a drainage pipe (with holes in) and with two or more outlets for ventilation (air pressure differences around the house will cause a permanent ventilation without a fan). On top gravel.
crcks in walls also can be a problem, of course, but usually is not the main attack.

[Bahcelibelly]

Totally agree with Kibsolar ,

Salts in the walls are stable and pretty inactive until moisture during the winter is absorbed into the walls due to a total lack of any from of DPC , mixes with the salts and seeks to exit through your interior walls normally 6 to 12 inches above ground level . Mixing white wine vinegar and water 50/50 and applied to interior render ( after plaster is removed ) helps neutralise the salts , so I was informed , any attempt to seal the walls is fruitless, as stated before the damp will rise ( up to a metre ) or spread laterally .

Again as mentioned , foundations dug out , damp proof membrane and sealant applied is the best cure to prevent continual damp intrusion …...

[gilly123]

Wish we could afford that last suggestion!

[sophie]

gilly123, from what I have seen regarding new houses being built in our area, builders do appear to be taking a lot more care with what they consider to be a form of dpc. Not what we would describe as dpc, but certainly 100% better than when our property was being built 15+ years ago. It was rumoured when the selling/building boom was at its height just before the Annan Plan, cowboy builders were using "beach" sand, which would obviously exacerbate the problem as well. Who knows, wouldn't put it past our lot though.